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Ed Krayewski

Five reasons to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants

1. Immigration Is Good for the Economy

For all the rhetoric about immigrants stealing jobs, immigration actually provides a benefit to the national economy, whether those immigrants crossed the border legally or not. Why? Because of what economists call the specialization of labor. As Jonathan Hoenig, proprietor of the Capitalist Pig blog, explains: “The fact that foreigners are eager to pick crops, clean houses, bus tables and produce allows more of us to afford cheaper food and better services, affording us even more wealth to enjoy and invest. It’s not the immigrants, but the taxes, spending and entitlements (most of which immigrants don’t even receive) that have drained the economy dry.” …

2. Illegal Immigrants Already Pay Taxes

One of President Obama’s markers on the path to citizenship is “paying taxes,” but most illegal immigrants already do so. As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia has reported, in 2006 an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants—up to two thirds of the total—paid taxes, including both income taxes and Medicare and Social Security taxes. Indeed, revenue from illegal immigrants is estimated at $11 billion a year to Social Security alone, and there’s not even a pretense of those payments leading to eventual benefits. And of course everyone who buys things in the U.S. pays sales taxes, irrespective of their immigration status. Undoubtedly, even more illegal immigrants would pay taxes if they didn’t have to worry about possible deportation as a consequence.

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BTW, reason magazine… your concept of ownership is too small and myopic… go read some Murray Rothbard, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, or Mencius Moldbug.
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Anarcho-Capitalism is actually saner than the libertarianism that is most popularly spouted.

If you value American citizenship so little, then why don’t you just relinquish it and leave. There are no reasons to allow our sovereignty to be violated and then award those criminals. There are no reasons to destroy the notion of the nation-state. If this is how you feel, renounce your American citizenship and move somewhere else. Devaluing American citizenship is always wrong. You don’t deserve the Constitution. You deserve some Latin American dictatorship.

1) ILLEGAL Aliens cost American taxpayers BILLIONS of dollars, and are a large part of the reason Sanctuary States like Illinois and California are headed towards bankruptcy.

2) ILLEGAL Aliens cost us taxpayer monies, and are part of the reason Sanctuary States are forced to raise taxes.

3) ILLEGAL Aliens left America enmasse when their mortgages came due. They are part of the reason we have TOXIC ASSETTS on the books today.

4) America is a land of laws which will be turned into a land filled with anarchy should people be fooled into supporting the law breakers from foreign lands.

5) IF our beloved Communist styled leaders EVER enforced our laws the ILLEGALS would leave on their own and never return. Stop giving them access to American social programs, stop educating them for ‘free [we pay for that], and fine the snot out of ANYONE that hires any illegal. The last will pay for ICE and the deportation efforts applied to those who refuse to leave on their own.

Finally, no one is counting how many of the ILLEGALS are in fact Muslim Extremists here to attack the innocent and promote terrorism. That negligence IS criminal in substancve, and the people culpable of these ILLEGAL acts need to be tried and imprisoned. Gitmo will do.

Anything we compromise and put in place restricting amnestied illegal aliens from things like welfare and voting are just a court order away from being taken out. Evidence is that the surge of illegal immigration may be ebbing, and if the deaths of Castro and Chavez lead to an end of Cold War politics in Latin America, the surge may go the other way. Amnesty would only encourage people to stay who are otherwise on track to leave.

I don’t care how many dollars and cents arguments there are, it’s still highly reckless to repeatedly legitimize massive illegal migration from a large, highly nationalistic neighboring country with a history of animosity and a spoiled, irredentist elite whom we coddle out of guilt or some fanciful paternalism.

I would sure like to see all this tax filing by illegals using a phony SS number. Do you suppose they also receive the stimulus check back by Uncle Sugar or minimum tax credit? If the government can’t even tell someone is paying taxes into a SS number of someone else…what chance do we have they can do anything?

As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia has reported, in 2006 an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants—up to two thirds of the total—paid taxes, including both income taxes and Medicare and Social Security taxes.

I call bullshite. Aren’t most of them getting paid in cash, outside of the employment tax reporting system?

So? I thought greed is good. Oh, wait, if it means paying into a system when they know they won’t get anything back, that’s bad, but having them pay into a system not knowing they won’t get anything back, then that’s good.

Anyway, Let’s ignore the fact that not only do they not have entry documents, they’ve also got fraudulent SS#.

And so what if they pay sales taxes. They’re also using roads, schools, hospitals, all sorts of government services, eat stuff, and drive cars. You think that doesn’t cost government something?

3. Most Illegal Immigrants Are Otherwise Law-Abiding

Well, according to #2, 67% have fraudulent identities, and 33% are evading income taxes. But according to your argument legalizing these otherwise scrupulously law abiding immigrants will give them the freedom not worry so much about being scrupulously law-abiding. That’s a great argument for legalizing them.

4. Immigration Is a Natural Right

LOL. You fix the natural right to private property and contract violations that runs rampant through our society now, then we can consider the natural right to movement across borders, Bud.

5. There Are Too Many Illegal Immigrants To Do Anything Else

That’s just BS from people who don’t want to do anything but give them amnesty.

And another thing – why is it America’s immigration policy that’s “broken”? Why not the Mexican and other governments that cannot give their citizens a decent life, why aren’t they the ones that are broken?

Perhaps libertarians need to go to Mexico and “fix” it, rather than insist on the suicide of America as a republic. After all, the Mexican immigration policy is far harsher than anything even the most anti-immigrant conservative is suggesting.

1. Good at reducing wages to the illegal Mexican drug cartel wage slave $2.77 an hour like in California.

2. Illegals paying taxes and social security out of their wages by the crooked employer , held until a no match letter comes from the feds then held by the crooked empoyer until his (made men) natinal accounting firm tells him he can transfer the money back to the operating accounts.

3. Law abiding after the illegal crossing, carrying the drugs the coyote demanded they carry as now the coyotes are controled (owned) by the Mexican drug cartels. Law abiding except for the front of the lie to get the ok to cross is held open for Mexican Drug cartel family members and assoicate. Law abiding except for the ID theft, law abinding except for the SS fraud, law abiding except for the running from the wreck, law abiding except for the dance across the border 9 months preg. to the “Anchor Baby” hospital, law abiding except for the faked up Union Card that enables the scam of an OK to weld high pressure gas lines in the oil field in the Ft. Worth Barnett Shale Gas fields (pipe lines in residental areas, next to public schools) ya,, law abiding as Hells Angles.

4. Natural Right: God knows, we know, even this liar knows this sin he committs is a great and deadly one.

5. Too many,,,, well if this guy admits under oath he knows that the numbers are much higher than the current Democrat/msm lie of 11 million, that and he needs to tell U.S. what it is all the Mexican bus companies do with the thousands of bus tickets they sell every week to illegals going home to take the cash to the family in Mexico.

And another thing – why is it America’s immigration policy that’s “broken”? Why not the Mexican and other governments that cannot give their citizens a decent life, why aren’t they the ones that are broken?

Perhaps libertarians need to go to Mexico and “fix” it, rather than insist on the suicide of America as a republic. After all, the Mexican immigration policy is far harsher than anything even the most anti-immigrant conservative is suggesting.

Rebar on February 8, 2013 at 11:12 AM

That would require them acknowledging that Mexico has some serious laws on the books against illegal immigration. Ask the Guatamalans that come to Mexico illegal and see if Mexico is “thinking” about amnesty.

And I am sorry but in this economy illegal immigration does not help the economy. I remember when Alabama made their laws tougher and illegals fled that state. There were lines around the block to get the factory jobs they fled.. with legal workers..

Last week, Judge Andrew Napolitano explained here at Reason.com that immigration is a natural right.

On what planet is this true? Ok, I’m going to go over to my neighbor’s house and plunk my butt down on his couch because it’s comfier than mine and turn on his TV because it’s bigger than mine and raid his fridge because he has better food. Hey, it’s my natural right! Napolitano is a perfect example of why I can’t be a Libertarian. They aren’t Libertarians, they are anarchists.

No, it’s that Libertarians are a subspecies of that most dangerous breed of Man- idealists.

In their ideal vision of society, there would be no welfare state, no government benefits, no public schools. Immigrants who came would have to sink or swim like everyone else without the prospect of taxpayer funded benefits (because there would be practically none).

While I agree with most of their ideals, I’m also realistic enough to understand that their ideals will never come to pass. Being idealists, they don’t operate from a baseline of reality.

As Reason Foundation Senior Analyst Shikha Dalmia has reported, in 2006 an estimated 8 million illegal immigrants—up to two thirds of the total—paid taxes, including both income taxes and Medicare and Social Security taxes.

I call bullshite. Aren’t most of them getting paid in cash, outside of the employment tax reporting system?

BuckeyeSam on February 8, 2013 at 10:54 AM

I don’t know if the number is really two thirds, but I was surprised to learn (through personal experience) that the majority of illegal immigrants use Tax ID Numbers to file income taxes each year. They may be underpaying by under-reporting their cash earnings, but they are paying taxes. Their main motive is to have a multi-year record of tax payments in the event that that is a condition of amnesty. The IRS cannot share the information from their returns with any other agency.

Think about this. An illegal alien using a TIN can claim up to 50 family members still in Mexico as dependents if he claims he sends them more 50% of their total living expenses. If they can get their taxes low enough through this method, they can get a 100% refund of their medicare and social security payments refunded.